Nightmare
by Amelia Strange
Summary: A devastating shooting leaves the 5-0 team in shambles. However, all is not as it seems.
1. Chapter 1

**What's up, everyone? I'm new to both the show and this fandom, but this idea popped in to my head and I just had to write about it. Hope you enjoy it, (and as I'm sure is the case with every other person posting on this site) reviews make my day!**

**- Amelia**

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* * *

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Dammit.

Dammit, dammit, dammit.

He should have put a bullet between Wo Fat's eyes when he had the chance to in the restaurant. Yeah, there would have been all the legal crap, and the obvious shock value of blowing the guy's head off in front of many stunned civilians (although Fat probably had people there guarding him or something, so he would probably have a matching wound in no time at all) but all this could have been avoided. There wouldn't have been the case this morning. There wouldn't have been the ambush at the warehouse when they were just checking things out, for Christ's sake. (Wo Fat probably watched a lot of bad cop shows.) There wouldn't have been that crack, that small wisp of gunfire from a sniper rifle, and Kona wouldn't be lying on the ground with a round in her chest, bleeding profusely.

"We should have known," Danny said, his head in his hands. "It was a trap. We were baited."

"Hindsight is twenty twenty," Chin said, and Steve nodded in agreement as much as he could in the moment. He was paralyzed. He was thinking about how the rest of the day would have played out. He would ask her out, just for a drink, nothing complicated, no pressure. It would go where it would go.

But now they were the hospital, just waiting. Twiddling their thumbs while a bunch of guys in white lab coats tried their darndest to save their friend.

"You should probably call... family," Steve said to Chin. It was a remarkably stupid and unsentimental thing to say. But he wasn't feeling particularly eloquent at the moment.

"Already done," Chin said. "They should be arriving en masse in no time at all." And like that, the ER was suddenly filled with his extended family, and immediately Chin had a bunch of relatives to fill in and comfort, so it was just him and Danno.

"I saw him," Steve said. "I saw Wo Fat. I had a chance to end this. I could have saved her."

"Careful brah," Danno said, "I don't think the immunity necessarily applies to actions taken off duty."

"He hurt someone on my team. Our team. I had a chance to stop it and I didn't." And not just anybody, either.

Steve couldn't exactly pinpoint when his attraction to Kona had taken hold. There was a fairly obvious physical attraction right from the start. Even Danny had professed, far away from Chin (and after a few beers, to be fair) that even he had a crush on Kona. But the feelings, the emotional attraction, that came later. She was smart. Capable. Sweet. (At least to those that didn't fall victim to that roundhouse.) She was everything that he could have wanted and dreamed of for... a long time. Yeah, Catherine was fine, but she was halfway across the world, and didn't really provide an shoulder to cry on. Kona was right here, in front of him.

Was.

The governor and a doctor came out from behind the double doors that lead to the operating room. The man in scrubs started shaking his head, the governor started going around and consoling the bereaved family. Steve couldn't process what was going on... Danno had tears in his eyes, he didn't see that side of him often.

And then it hit him, like a ten ton anvil.

Kona Kalakaua was dead.

_Heaven isn't supposed to hurt his much, _Kono thought as she opened her eyes. But then there were green walls and whirring monitors instead of white lights, and she concluded that she was not, in fact, in heaven. _Not dead. Impressive. _

She didn't remember much of the ambush. One minute, they were talking to CSU about the dead guy on the floor, the next, there's a full on firefight and she was lying on the floor, blood spilling from her chest and feeling pain like she'd never felt before. Everyone else had cover, they were returning fire, and then everything went black.

Oh god. Were they okay? She'd conveniently passed out before things ended. For all she knew, they were in hospital rooms beside her. Or maybe in the morgue. She shuddered at the thought. But seriously. It was concerning.

She tried to sit up, and was prevented from doing so by about a million nurses. A doctor came in to the room and checked her vital signs.

"Ms. Kalakaua," the doctor said, his voice crisp and pleasant, "how are you feeling?"

"Like hell," she answered. The pain in her shoulder was throbbing.

"Well, you did lose a fair bit of blood. But the bullet didn't sever any crucial nerves or arteries, and after a few weeks of desk duty, you should be okay. Depending on how things go, you may not even need a sling." The doctor smiled, which she found to be quite morbid under the circumstances. "You're lucky. A few inches over and you would be six feet under."

Annoying bastard. He probably thought that there was some entertainment value in this. "I don't know if you would know this, but how is my team? Danny Williams? Chin Ho Kelly? Steve McGarrett?"

"They're fine," the Governor said, walking through the door. "And I'm glad I can say the same for you, Ms. Kalakaua."

"Can I see them?" Kono said anxiously.

The Governor paused and took a deep breath before responding. "As you may or may not know, the crime scene that you guys were looking at today was a trap. It was a setup by Wo Fat to assassinate the team."

Nope. Completely in the dark about that one.

"He was successful in wounding you, but we still have reason to believe he'll target the rest of the team, and might come after you if he knew your whereabouts. So, we're hosting a press conference in about an hour to tell the world a little white lie."

Kono was putting the puzzle pieces together in her head. Oh god. That wasn't good. "So you're going to tell the world that I'm dead? That isn't really a white lie, governor. No disrespect."

"It's only for a few days. We've sealed off this ward, and hopefully we'll get our hands on Wo Fat at the press conference. It's a perfect and public way to get the rest of the team out of the way. After your sojourn at the hospital, you should be all ready to give the team the surprise of their lives."

"This will work?" Kona said, slightly incredulous.

"I just hope they won't ask why they all need to wear kevlar vests to do a simple press conference." The Governor said, a hint of a smile on her lips.

_Why does everyone find this whole situation so hilarious? _Kono thought, mildly disturbed.

"As I'm sure you've figured out, you're not to contact anyone. No family, and particularly not your team," the Governor said.

Kono sighed, frustrated. "Yes, Governor." _They are never going to trust me again after this._

"Get well soon, Ms. Kalakaua," the Governor said, leaving. "We need you back." She turned to the doctor. "Remember, no one in, no one out."

The doctor nodded in agreement.

_Good god, this is so messed up. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi guys! I love all the reviews that I'm getting. Hope you are enjoying reading this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.**

**- Amelia  
**

* * *

"So," Danny said, putting on his vest, "anyone know what the Kevlar is for?"

Chin shrugged. Steve was too bowled over by this afternoon's events to really care why the Governor had them put on bulletproof vests for the press conference they were holding to officially announce Kona's death.

"Perhaps Fat is still watching us," Chin said. "With this public show, perhaps he thinks that it's an appropriate occasion to try and get the rest of us."

_I so could not care less, _Steve thought. He was at the point where death would have been some sort of release from the hell that was currently reality.

That, and he would see Kona again.

The Governor came in to the waiting room. "You guys ready?"

"As ready as we could be," Chin said, "under the circumstances."

"I understand that this is a tragedy that no one is prepared for," the Governor said, "but this is an important show of strength from Five-0, HPD, and the larger community."

Steve shrugged. The world suddenly seemed grey and bland, kind of like how it had been when his mother and father died. "Kona," he whispered sadly.

"Shall we?" the Governor said, and they followed her out to the front of the hospital.

* * *

Kona sat in her hospital bed, quiet and sad. Who knew how far they were away from her? They could be just down the hall, and they thought she was dead. Gone. No offence to the governor or anything, but this was a really shitty plan.

_Steve. Oh god, _she thought, _he must be devastated. _She'd caught the looks he'd been giving her lately. And, hey, she thought he wasn't bad either. Okay, fine, he was smoking hot, and really nice, and okay, she wouldn't admit this to Chin or Danny, or anyone who asked, but she had a crush on him.

And okay, it might be more than a crush. A lot more than a crush. It was love, as much as she was loath to admit that. It was just that she felt... shaky around him. More nervous than she would normally be around any other guy. Like a jittery, love-drunk teenager.

Oh god. He was never going to forgive her for this. For this lie.

Well, no one would. But he was the one she really cared about.

* * *

Steve stepped up to the podium set up in front of the hospital. He inhaled deeply and looked at the short comments that some secretary from the governor's office came up with for the occasion.

It seemed trite and insignificant to deal with the tragedy at hand. Steve could hear Kona's family sobbing behind him. He could barely keep himself together as it was.

He stared out at the small crowd that had gathered in front of the hospital. They were mostly reporters, and the flashes from their cameras jarred Steve, making him think of the shot that had killed Kona.

_I can't do this. I really, really can't do this. _

He took another deep breath, steadied himself, and started to speak.

"This afternoon, we experienced a tragedy at Hawaii Five-0 like we've never experienced before. A young woman's life was tragically cut short..."

And as soon as those words left his mouth, all hell broke loose.

_I guess this is why we needed the vests._

* * *

The gunshots jarred Kona from a short, dreamless sleep.

"Oh no," she said to no one in particular.

_Good god, they're getting slaughtered out there. _

No, no, no, no. This wasn't supposed to be the plan. This was supposed to be simple, and safe, but hey, nothing with this team ever was.

Well, hey, there were sniper rifles involved. And they were trying to bring down a Yakuza kingpin, so perhaps it wasn't so simple and safe.

But Steve, no, he would take a risk. He would do something stupid to protect another person, and he'd end up with a bullet to the head.

He was so selfless, but god, at some point in the future, or now even, it would cost him dearly. And she would like to at least have some time to benefit from his selflessness, and his kindness, and some other features of him (physically, perhaps, not emotionally) before he got his head blown off.

_They have to be okay. Please, please god, let them be okay. _

* * *

The whole thing, now that Steve could think about it a little clearer (which was ironic, because only about thirty seconds prior, he'd been surrounded by a hail of gunfire and he could still think more clearly than he could in a very quiet and secure waiting room) that this situation had all the hallmarks of a set up. It was funny how all the civilians could get to cover quickly, how... sheltered the whole area seemed from sniper fire.

Yeah, definitely a set up. But why?

They found out when they got back to headquarters for a debrief a few hours later.

"So you basically used us as Yakuza bait?" Danny said to the Governor, looking like he was about to punch her.

"We had reliable intel that they were planning an attack on the team," she said, arms crossed, leaning against her desk. "The ambush at the crime scene wasn't successful, not to the point that they were hoping, so we figured if we could get everyone together in a public enough event, they would come back and get you guys again."

"So you deliberately put our lives at risk?" Chin said, the rage rising in his voice.

"It was a calculated risk," the Governor said. "All the civilians were put in positions where they could be evacuated quickly in the event of gunfire. We had no injuries or fatalities."

"But... but... my family members were close to us at the podium! What if one of them had died? Don't you think we'd lost enough for one day?" Chin yelled.

"We got Wo Fat," the Governor said. "We won for today. Now, all of you go home. I don't want to see any of you here tomorrow. That clear?"

The three of them nodded and wandered out back in to the bullpen.

"I guess we have to start looking for her... replacement," Chin said, sighing and looking at Kona's desk with a pained look in his eyes.

"I don't know," Danny said. "Not yet. We need some time."

"She was wrong," Steve said quietly.

"What?" Danny said.

"The Governor. She said there were no fatalities today. We lost someone. We lost Kona. We lost the crazy surfer antics, the wicked roundhouse kick, the infectious smile, and about the only person who would let herself get abducted by Russian gangsters and not murder us for having her miss her graduation from the police academy. We lost a part of our ohana. It will take time. And that's what we need right now, I guess."

Steve turned around and walked out of the bullpen and on to the street. It was tough just walking to the car and seeing the street scene. Everyone, everything reminded him of Kona, whether it was the girls surfing or the street scene, with everyone talking and hugging and being a close family.

He sat in his car and rested his head on the steering wheel. _Oh god. I can't do this anymore. _


	3. Chapter 3

**I was so enamored with the reviews that I was getting that I decided to post 2 chapters in one day. Ridiculous, right? I actually have the story written, but the last two chapters are a little hack because I wrote them around 2 this morning. But enjoy this new content!**

**- Amelia  
**

* * *

Kona was in the hospital for a week, but it felt like forever. She wanted to be surfing. Heck, she just wanted to be outside. It would have also been nice for her to be able to contact her friends and family, but alas, she had to keep up the illusion that she was dead. Apparently, they'd managed to ignore the question of releasing the body by claiming that they needed to do more post-mortem exams to conclusively tie her murder to Wo Fat. Well, they were adding her name to a long list.

She could just imagine the gasket that Chin would be about to blow because they couldn't follow the proper funeral traditions. He was probably about to go to the morgue himself. What a surprise that would be. Then they'd have to make another excuse. Lost her body, perhaps? Released it to the wrong family? Oh, the fun they could have.

She chuckled to herself. She wouldn't have found that funny a week ago, but being in isolation in a hospital ward for a week could lead one to have some very morbid thoughts.

It was early in the morning when they officially discharged her. The Governor sent a car to take her back to the palace for the big reveal. Fortunately, Kona was the only person there. Damn. She was really hoping to give some unsuspecting office worker the fright of their life.

The Governor was waiting for her at the door. She guided Kona up to the bullpen, and sat down in front of her.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" the Governor said, concern permeating her voice.

"I'm ready for some human contact with someone other than my doctor," Kona said. She hoped that she was hiding the nerves, and the fact that her heart was racing in her chest at the thought of seeing everyone again, especially Steve. That extra bit of heart racing jitters was for him.

"They should be here in not too long," the Governor said. "I can stay if you would like."

"No, I think that it's best if I do it alone," Kona said, "but thanks anyways."

It was only when the Governor left that Kona really got nervous. Her stomach dropped, and started doing backflips, and ultimately it was a very unpleasant sensation. She figured if she had to wait any longer, she might drop for real.

Chin was the first person in. Of course he was. He got really driven and robotic and when he was faced with intense emotions.

"What the... fuck..." Chin said. "I just spent half an hour on the phone with your mom trying to calm her down and convince her that I would go down to the morgue and personally collect your body."

"Can I explain when everyone gets here?" Kona asked, her hands trembling noticeably now. "It's a little bit complicated."

"No kidding. You had to fake your own death. That's not exactly a paradigm of simplicity. But they'd better get here fast."

Danny got there within five minutes. He was equally floored, but still managed to drop a couple of corny one liners before Steve came in.

Then, the whole room went silent. Because hey, Steve and Kona hadn't exactly been subtle about the looks, and all that other stuff that went with hiding a growing attraction for another person. Chin and Danny had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but neither one had a particular compulsion to get in the middle of it.

Well, it was Steve and Kona. It had the possibility to get incredibly intense.

Steve's breath caught in his throat. There she was. A hallucination, perhaps. But how probable was three people sharing the same hallucination? Cho and Danny seemed to be equally in awe at Kona.

"Kona," Steve said, his voice nearly catching in his throat, "nice to have you back."

She barely managed a smile. She could feel her cheeks heating up, her heart rate beating faster and faster (this couldn't be healthy for someone who had recently survived a shooting) and she supposed that she'd better get on with the explanation before she passed out.

"So I wake up in the hospital," Kona started, hesitantly, "and the doctor tells me that I've been shot, but I guess Fat's sniper wasn't all that good because he managed to miss all the important stuff. Anyways, the Governor comes in and tells me that I have to pretend to be dead because there's some kind of risk that Fat will come back for me and that he's trying to get the rest of the team too, and there was going to be a press conference, a big public event that would draw Fat out."

"Sounds about right," Danny said. "I mean, apart from the whole you being alive part. And it was great almost getting killed for a second time in one day."

"I could hear the gunfire," Kona said, her voice almost dropping to a whisper, "and I thought you guys were all gone. All dead. And the worst thing was I couldn't contact you guys, or any family. I was just stuck in this little hospital room for a week. I'm good now." She brightened a little, but it felt fake. All she wanted was for Steve to come over or something. "The doctors says I need a few days of desk duty but I should be back in no time at all." She looked around at the team and forced a smile. Danny and Chin looked like they were thrilled, and a little shocked and surprised, but Steve was still standing away from the group, looking like someone had punched him. _Oh my god, what have I done? _

* * *

Steve had a resignation letter in hand. He was planning on getting back in touch with the Navy, going back to Afghanistan, just getting away from the Hawaiian scene that reminded him so much of someone he thought that he would never have back again.

Well, that was until he walked in to the office this morning and saw Kona sitting on her desk, just like it was any normal morning. Yeah. People came back from the dead all the time. That was a completely normal occurrence around 5-0.

He knew that he should feel overjoyed. That he should have been running to her, and taking her in his arms and kissing her like he had always wanted to do. This was his second chance.

But he couldn't do anything but stand and listen to Kona tell her story and feel supremely betrayed. She couldn't bend or break protocol to just let the team know she was okay?

At least his mental health. Because he was head over heels in love with her, and it really sucks to find out that someone you feel so strongly about would lie to you about something as important as their death.

"Well, so we had to do this press conference," Danny said, picking up the story, "and McGarrett over here steps up to the podium and before he gets a sentence out bullets are flying everywhere. Apparently the Yakuza thought that this was the right time to bust out the fireworks. Well, that was a few minutes of hell, because there were bullets and civilians and we all know how good a combination that is, but anyways, no one's hurt, and they got Wo Fat, which was great. He's in lockup and I think we've fulfilled McGarrett's life mission, eh?" Danny looked over his shoulder and tried to engage Steve in the conversation.

He was silent. He just couldn't say anything. All he could do was stare at Kona. And she was staring back. He tried to search her eyes for love, or perhaps some justification of the massive betrayal that she'd perpetrated, but he found nothing. Her stare was blank.

"Boss?" Chin said. "You okay?"

"No," Steve said, and bolted out of the bullpen like he was on fire.

* * *

Kona couldn't react immediately when Steve ran. She was paralyzed, and intensely confused. Should she stay or go? She really didn't think that ruining her relationship with her boss and object of her intense affections was a good way to go, but could things get any worse?

She picked go. She decided to run after him. But as soon as she got out of the Governor's palace and on to the street, she knew she had no hopes of finding him. He was a Navy SEAL. He knew how to run and hide.

She did, however, have something of an inkling of where he'd gone to.


	4. Chapter 4

**What? Another update? At this rate I'll be done by... the end of the day! Or even tomorrow! I so love all the reviews that I'm getting. I'm sorry for the Kona/Kono name screw-up. I changed for this chapter, so I hope that makes up for the previous three that I messed up. Enjoy!**

**Also, everything that's here about Steve's house is pure conjecture. I don't actually know what his house looks like (although I'm pretty sure it has been in some of the episodes). Also, I've been bad about disclaimers, so here it goes: I don't own Steve, Kono, and Hawaii Five-0.  
**

**- Amelia  
**

_

* * *

What. The. Fuck. _This was the mantra running through Steve's head as he sped home. This whole situation was messed up beyond belief. He was wired to the point that it was probably unsafe for him to be driving, but he just had to put as much space between him and Kono as possible. At least for the moment. He really wasn't sure wether he wanted to see her again, to let her apologize (because he knew that was the right thing to do, and she would probably apologize, given the chance, as he was sure that she was saying that to Chin and Danny at that very moment) and give her another chance, or just run.

He settled on the second option. He pulled his car in to the driveway, threw his shoes inside, and then just ran to the beach, and ran along the beach, his feet pounding the sand, tears streaming down his face, his heart racing a million miles a minute and each breath searing his chest. He finally found a place secluded and quiet enough where he could collapse on the sand and sob.

* * *

Kono was sitting in Steve's hammock when he got back from his run. He looked... angry for sure, but there was another emotion in his eyes, something Kono couldn't read.

"How the hell did you find me here?" Steve asked.

"I would go home after getting the kind of shock that you received today," Kono said, gently swinging on the hammock. "So I assumed you might do the same." He wasn't wearing a shirt, which made focusing on the conversation at hand a little difficult.

"So, along with surfing, your hobbies include faking your own death and breaking in to people's houses?" He said. It was caustic and angry, like a slap to the face.

"I owe you an apology," Kono said, standing up and cautiously approaching Steve.

"No shit," Steve said, his voice almost at a yell.

"I was acting under orders," Kono said tersely, crossing her arms across her chest. "I wanted to contact you guys, but I didn't have the opportunity or the means. Steve, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause anyone this pain." _Especially you. _

"Well, you did," Steve said angrily. He was mad, that was obvious, but she finally figured out what else was in his eyes - it was passion. Pure, unbridled passion. "You don't do that to your team or your family. And then we all get shot at in front of the hospital -"

"You think I didn't hear that? You think I wasn't terrified that you guys were being offered up as a sacrifice for a demented Yakuza boss?" She was standing close to him now, dangerously close. _You're playing with fire, _she thought. "The plan was crap. But blame the governor for that. I was just doing what I was told. Wo Fat would have come for me again if he had any clue that I was alive."

He knew that. He was painfully aware that Fat would finish her off if he had known that she was alive. He would kill any of them if he had the chance.

"Well, then how hard do you think it was watching you get shot?" Steve said, his body trembling. "You think I wasn't scared? You think that I didn't sit there in that waiting room and think that it was my fault that you'd died? I was scared too, Kono, and it would have made it a lot easier if I'd known that you were alive. You didn't have to tell anyone. Just me. I would have kept your secret."

She frowned. "I think you're being selfish. You wanted me to risk my own personal safety in contacting you. And you know it."

"Yeah? And why, Kono, would I be acting selfish in this situation?"

"Because I think you care for me." _That's risky, confronting him, _Kono thought. But it seemed the only way to go in this situation.

There was a pause. Kono could see the tense set of his jaw, the way he looked at her sharply, and instinctively put a hand on his bicep in a gesture entirely intended to comfort him.

And she was surprised as hell when he leaned in without any warning whatsoever and crushed his lips to hers. For a moment, she was caught completely unaware, her eyes still open, her brain unable to compel her to do anything. It took a few seconds, then she was able to get over the obvious shock and kiss him back properly. Their tongues danced in a desperate battle for control, and her hands moved from his arm to his low back, fingers gracing over the muscled skin, causing him to moan in to her mouth. One of his hands was weaving through her hair, the other around her waist, keeping her close to him.

_Oh god. _She'd expected this kiss to be good, but not nearly this good. She didn't care if it was a bit rough, or maybe he was holding her a little tighter than she was used to, she just wanted him.

Steve broke off the kiss first, because hey, everyone had to breathe at some point. Kono managed to get one shallow breath in before Steve was once again claiming her lips, and she wasn't sure if it was hypoxia or just the fact that Steve was kissing her, but her head was spinning like a top. She was aware enough to feel the hands that danced at the hem of her tank top, trying to pull it off. She broke off the kiss and gently rested his hands on hers.

"Yes," Kono said breathlessly, "but inside."

"Come on. You're going to make me wait longer?" She was really hoping the note of frustration in Steve's voice was meant as a joke.

"People could stare. And it's literally twenty steps away from here to inside the house, then we can be free from prying eyes."

"Fine." Steve wrapped one arm around her waist and guided her to the house.

They were one step inside the door, and Kono was barely able to catch her breath before he had her back against the wall, kissing her again. His hands were under her shirt, running across the flat planes of chest.

He broke away from her again. "I don't just care for you," he said, his breaths ragged. "I love you."

_No kidding. _She smiled. "Me too."

"I missed you." His forehead rested against hers, arms around her waist.

"I missed you too," she said, rubbing circles on the back of his head. "I'm here now. It's okay."

He kissed her again, full of heat and passion, but a little more tender, and when he slid his arms under her behind, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, getting another moan out of Steve. When he started guiding them towards his bedroom, she didn't protest, because that's what she'd wanted to do for a long time. This was what second chances were for, right?

* * *

Was it really creepy or really sweet that Steve just loved to watch Kono sleep?

Her breath was still a little ragged, her face was a little flushed, but she was there, solid and warm and spooned against him. He was so thankful for that.

He probably should have been gentler with her. She'd just survived a shooting, after all, and he tried to avoid her left shoulder as much as possible, but he hadn't heard her complain at all. He'd hoped for their first time to be tender, and passionate, but all the complicated emotions that came in to this evening made it impossible. It had been frantic, but also what he'd needed. He needed to feel her, real and warm and human, just to be sure that she was really alive.

The kiss the evening had blown his mind. He wasn't sure quite what he was doing when he'd leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, but it felt right, like two puzzle pieces coming together. She was soft and warm and oh so responsive and everything he'd dreamt that she'd be (and much, much more).

He rested his hand on her hip, pulled her closer to him, and fell asleep.

For the first time in a long time, he rested peacefully and happily.


	5. Chapter 5

**It is with a heavy heart that I hit the "complete" button on this one. It was such great fun to write. I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to get up - school and FF site malfunctions have a funny way of getting in the way of things. Sorry if this one is a little hack - I wrote it at two a.m. . Thanks to all those who reviewed this thing. **

**- Amelia  
**

* * *

Kono woke up before Steve, which surprised her. She'd have figured him to be an early riser, with all that time in the military. But when she opened her eyes to the sunrise, he was still lying beside her, snoring softly.

Well, it was only 6:30. And she wasn't sure why she wasn't exhausted after last night. Her whole body was aching, especially her shoulder. The doctor had said to take it easy and stay away from any kind of strenuous exercise (which included surfing, much to her dismay), so last night probably wouldn't have received his stamp of approval.

It was, however, just what she'd needed. (And wanted.) All that romantic tension between them had burst in rather spectacular fashion. There was something intensely gratifying about the fact that he was calling out her name in the throes of pleasure, that she was the one that he'd decided to hold in his arms. She could feel a few tender spots on her that would eventually blossom in to bruises, and she wouldn't be able to hide all of them. Oh well. They weren't anything she could blame on getting shot (although there might be some curiosity as to why they were so fresh after a week in the hospital, and she'd probably get a raised eyebrow from Chin, but he wouldn't say anything unless he wanted to get punched), and she supposed it was fair, because she'd dug her nails in to Steve's back a few times. She blushed a bit when she thought of that.

Kono considered waking up and getting some coffee, and maybe make a bit of breakfast, but she still felt like she was a bit too much of a guest around the McGarrett house to do that. So she snuggled closer to Steve and joined him in sleep. She figured if he wasn't awake yet, they didn't have anything crime-related to handle for the day, so it was okay to sleep in a little bit.

* * *

When Kono woke up again, it was closer to nine, and Steve was no longer beside her. She could hear movement below her, so she gathered up her clothes (it wasn't optimal to wear the same thing for two days in a row, but she didn't want to fulfill any bad morning after stereotypes and grab one of his shirts), got dressed, and went downstairs. He was cooking omelets in the kitchen.

"You cook too?" Kona said. "How did someone else not snap you up by now?"

"Things involving eggs are about the limit of my skills," Steve said, sidling closer to her. He leaned in, and they shared a gentle kiss.

"How are you?" Steve said, a note of concern in his voice. "Is your shoulder okay?"

"It aches a bit," Kono said. "Well, so does the rest of me. Perhaps last night wasn't exactly what the doctor had in mind when he said that I had to take it easy for a little while."

Steve smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, things got a little athletic last night. My apologies."

"Not needed," Kono said. She leaned in to him and kissed him again. When things got intense again, she pulled back, feeling the flush on her face as the cool air rushed between the space between their bodies.

"Oh, come on," Steve said, groaning a little.

"We need to sit down and talk about this," Kono said. "That, and our breakfast is burning."

Steve reluctantly acquiesced to Kono's demands. He served their breakfast and they sat down across from each other.

"This could get complicated," Kono said.

"I don't see what's so complicated about this," Steve said. "We clearly want each other. I don't see an issue."

"I don't just want to _want you_, Steve," Kono said, sharper than she'd intended. "Although last night was... epic, to say the least, this needs to be about more than that."

"Who says it isn't?"

"We didn't really say much last night, Steve. I'm left to guess a bit here."

Steve paused, carefully considering his words. "I do love you, Kono. Mind, body, and soul. I would never want or wish you to think otherwise."

Kono smiled. "I love you too, Steve."

There was an awkward pause at that moment, which was reserved for a deep gaze in to the others eyes.

"Made you blink," Steve said, after a moment, and grinned.

"You did not... wait, can you ever just have a quiet romantic moment?" Kono said, shaking her head.

He shrugged.

"Then there's also the small matter than I'm your subordinate," Kono said. "I don't want... this to get in the way when we're in the field. And that my older cousin is also on said team, and that he might beat you up if he finds out."

"The only thing we can do is take things one day at a time," Steve said, "and as for Chin, I will be going out of my way to make sure that we don't have to find out who is more ninja."

Kono laughed. "And the biggest question: do we tell them, or keep it a secret?"

"It would be fun to keep it a secret," Steve mused, "but I'm sure Danny and Chin will figure it out eventually."

"I'm sure they will." Kono paused and sighed. This morning was nothing short of idyllic, but the real world had to come rushing in eventually. "I have to call the family. They're probably all freaking out."

"Fair," Steve said. "Chin might have already told them, but I'll leave you in peace to do that."

Kono nodded her appreciation and went off to begin the notifications.

* * *

Steve was partially right. Chin had taken the liberty of notifying the part of the family that he was still on speaking terms with, but everyone still wanted to hear about the plan in great detail, and either congratulate her on her willingness to do such a thing or her stupidity for much the same reasons.

The notifications finally finished after a full two and a half hours. Her cell battery was dying, and she'd had enough of her family after calling the last great-auntie. As soon as she'd said her goodbyes to the last person to hear the story, her phone rang. It was Chin.

"Hey, cuz."

"Why are you at McGarrett's house?"

"You tracked my cellphone? That's super creepy."

"You weren't at your apartment. I thought you had perhaps faked your own death once more."

"Low blow, cuz." She rolled her eyes.

"Listen, I'm okay with you and McGarrett, but if he does anything that upsets you in the least..."

"Why are you jumping to conclusions? Is it illegal to go hang out with a friend on your day off?"

"Kono, do you think I'm blind? You have eyes for each other, that much is very clear. Like I said, I have no trouble with it. As long as he's good to you."

"We're going surfing later."

"Hmmm, maybe not. Auntie's having a luau tonight to celebrate your marvelous resurrection."

"Are you kidding me? I just spoke to her twenty minutes ago. She said nothing about a luau."

"See you tonight, Kono. And say hi to Steve for me."

* * *

Steve pretty much puttered while Kono was on the phone. He retied the hammock and did other small things that needed to be done around the house, making sure to stay out of the living room to her privacy. He caught snippets of her conversations though, and it sounded like some were happy to see her back and others were mad about her faking being gone in the first place.

He was happy to fall in the former party. His own phone started ringing, and he stepped outside to take the call. It was Danny.

"Please tell me no one died today, because I am really enjoying a break after today..."

"Yeah, yeah, I would hate to interrupt your time with Kono."

"How do you know she's here?"

"I didn't. You just confirmed it. It was simply a guess based on some awesome observational skills."

"Whatever, Danno. You're so dead when I see you next."

"Whatever, SEAL boy. So you two are..."

"Maybe. I'm not saying anything."

"I don't care. Just don't be lovey-dovey at work, okay? I can't take that stuff."

"I'll plant one on her just for you, Danno."

"I so hope you're kidding."

"You don't want to know."

Steve hung up. He sighed. _So much for secret. _He walked back around to the hammock, climbed in, and fell asleep.

* * *

He was awoken by Kono's light touch on his shoulder. He was happy just to take her in for a moment before she broke the silence.

"Chin knows," she said.

"Danno knows," he replied. "So much for our undercover romance."

"Damn," she said, climbing in beside him, "I was so looking forward to the fun that would have been."

Steve shrugged. "I suppose we can be more honest now. Is the family all notified of your reappearance?"

Kono nodded. "There's a luau tonight to specifically celebrate it. I have to go back to my place, but I'll come back later, okay?"

Steve nodded. They both exited the hammock, and he walked her to the front.

"Thanks for understanding, Steve," she said, pressing her body to his. "I love you so much."

"I'm happy to have you back, Kono," he said, kissing her once more. He looked in to her eyes once more, smiling.

For one moment in his deeply fractured world, everything was perfect and whole.


End file.
